VZCZCXRO5012
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHAM #4793/01 3400710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 060710Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1134
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004793 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/I, PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV EAID ECON PREL IZ JO
SUBJECT: CONGRESSWOMAN MCCOLLUM DISCUSSES IMPACT OF IRAQI REFUGEES 
ON JORDAN 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; please protect accordingly.  Not for 
distribution outside the USG. 
 
Refs: A) Amman 4773; B) Amman 4738; C) Amman 4693 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: During the November 24-27 visit to Jordan of 
Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN), Government of Jordan (GOJ) 
officials described the strain that approximately 500,000 Iraqis 
have been placing on the Jordanian infrastructure.  All stressed 
that while Jordan has opened up public services to Iraqis living in 
Jordan, the GOJ does not want to create a separate, parallel system 
for fear of deterring eventual resettlement.  McCollum also met with 
UN agencies and international NGOs, visited the home of an Iraqi 
family, and visited a public secondary school with 100 Iraqi 
school-girls.  End Summary. 
 
GOJ Claims Iraqis Putting Pressure on Infrastructure 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2.  (U) In a November 25 meeting, Congresswoman McCollum and 
Ambassador Hale congratulated the new Education Minister Tayseer 
al-Nueimi, who had just been sworn into office hours earlier by King 
Abdullah (Ref C).  Nueimi opened the meeting by thanking the U.S. 
for support of Jordan's educational reform program.  He gave an 
overview of upcoming educational priorities, including creation of a 
productive learning environment, simplification of testing 
procedures, construction of new schools, integration of Information 
Communication Technology (ICT), and deepening the qualitative impact 
of reform. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Addressing McCollum's interest in how Jordan's education 
system responded to the Iraqi refugee situation, Nueimi said that 
24,000 students had been enrolled in Jordanian schools to date. 
Despite assistance from USAID, UNICEF, and UNHCR, he claimed the 
Iraqi students were putting additional pressure on the Jordanian 
educational system, requiring more teachers, labs, and 
infrastructure.  He stressed that Jordan did not want to create any 
parallel system for these students.  Nueimi also noted that Jordan 
had made available non-formal education programs, including evening 
classes and home study opportunities.  He welcomed any opportunities 
for additional assistance and expanding educational exchange 
programs, particularly for higher education. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) During a November 26 meeting, Minister of Planning and 
International Cooperation Suhair al-Ali, who was reappointed to this 
ministry in the new government,  elaborated on the pressures that 
Iraqi refugees have been placing on Jordan.  Ali referred to the 
recent study by the Norwegian research institute Fafo in cooperation 
with the GOJ Department of Statistics that concluded the number of 
Iraqis in Jordan was between 450,000 - 500,000, but added that the 
reluctance of some Iraqis to reveal their presence might mean the 
number is understated (Ref A). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ali said that the GOJ has shown Jordanian hospitality to 
Iraqis and offered all services to them, who now comprise 
approximately nine percent of Jordan's population.  She elaborated 
that this has not been easy for a country with a poverty rate of 
over 13 percent, unemployment of 14 percent, scarce water resources, 
a budget deficit, and current account deficit of over 15 percent of 
GDP, even after elimination of subsidies.  Highlighting figures in 
the Fafo report, she noted that 22 percent of the Iraqi adults in 
Jordan are working - mostly in construction, painting or services - 
thereby taking away jobs from Jordanians.  Of particular concern, 
she said, was that a significant percentage of those Iraqis surveyed 
did not want to leave Jordan.  NOTE: The Fafo report concluded 95 
percent of those interviewed did not want to leave Jordan before the 
security situation in Iraq allowed for their return.  END NOTE. 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) McCollum commended Jordan's efforts in assisting Iraqis, 
particularly in allowing children to enter public schools.  She 
noted that Congress would be exploring the possibility of a 
supplemental to help with the Iraqi refugee situation, and 
encouraged the GOJ to provide additional input on needs through the 
Embassy.  She also said she respected Jordan's decision to call the 
Iraqi refugees "guests," but then asked under what laws such 
individuals were provided protection, given they would not qualify 
under the 1951 Refugee Convention.  Ali did not have an answer, but 
said she would raise it with the Prime Minister.  Ambassador Hale 
also urged the GOJ to give the Iraqis legal residency, as many still 
harbor unfounded fears of being deported on the basis of illegal 
alien status even though the GOJ policy is to deport only on 
security grounds (Ref B). 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Nawaf Eltal, Director of the Negotiations Coordination 
Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed similar views 
during a November 25 meeting with McCollum that the influx of Iraqis 
has overstretched  Jordan's infrastructure.  He suggested that any 
programs to address the issue of Iraqis in Jordan should be 
 
AMMAN 00004793  002 OF 002 
 
 
temporary, in order to encourage resettlement in Iraq. 
Eltal noted that in some cases Iraqis get better treatment than 
Jordanian citizens.  For example, he said a Jordanian child going to 
a public school must pay $115/year for books and other materials, 
but an Iraqi child pays nothing.  NOTE: UNICEF has provided a $1.3 
million grant to the GOJ to help cover the school fees and costs of 
materials for Iraqi children in Jordan.  END NOTE. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Eltal acknowledged, however, that it is in Jordan's 
interest to have the Iraqi children in school, as the Jordanian 
vaccination system is linked to the educational system, which helps 
control disease.  He said that tuberculosis had reemerged in Jordan, 
which he attributed to the new Iraqi population.  The UNHCR 
Representative in Jordan, Imran Riza, also mentioned in a separate 
meeting that UNHCR has seen high rates of cancer, diabetes, and 
heart disease in Iraqi refugees in Jordan, and was working with 
Jordanian institutions, such as the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, 
to see what sort of health care can be provided and on what terms. 
 
UN and International NGOs 
------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) McCollum also met with representatives from UNAMI, UNICEF, 
Jordan's Red Crescent Society, International Catholic Migration 
Commission (ICMC), Caritas, International Organization for Migration 
(IOM), Save the Children, Mercy Corps, Care, and International 
Medical Corps.  The agencies each described their efforts to 
register, resettle, and address the educational, health, and 
physical needs of Iraqi refugees in Jordan. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) One striking theme across meetings was that the exact 
number of Iraqi refugees in Jordan remains elusive.  Most opined 
that the truth probably rested between Fafo's original estimate of 
161,000 and the final 500,000 figure.  In particular, the fact that 
only 24,000 Iraqi students - rather than the 50,000 expected - 
registered in Jordanian schools this past year continued to cast 
doubt on the higher estimates.  Explanations included students not 
being registered for fear of deportation, kids working to help 
support their families, or some children not qualifying for entry 
after having been out of the school system for 2-3 years, which has 
led to home schooling projects.  At least one international worker 
speculated that Jordan preferred the higher estimates as 
justification for requesting more money. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) All acknowledged the efforts of the GOJ to deal with the 
impact of the refugees in Jordan, given the strain on the Jordanian 
economy and the political sensitivity of accepting another refugee 
population.  UNHCR Representative Riza said that the response of the 
international community was late, but efforts have now escalated. 
He noted that UNHCR's budget for Jordan was under $3 million in 
2006, but increased to $40 million in 2007.  As of November 25, 
UNHCR Jordan has registered over 50,000 Iraqis, and referred 7,500 
for resettlement, with the U.S. being the largest resettlement 
country. 
 
Home and School Visits 
---------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) In addition to visiting the small, rundown home of an 
Iraqi refugee family in the Hashimiyah area of Amman, McCollum 
toured the public Bint Adi Secondary School for Girls in Amman, 
where 100 Iraqi students had registered this past year.  She 
observed firsthand the overcrowded classrooms of 50 girls or more, 
the integration of ICT in the schools' computer labs, and areas of 
new construction being supported by the USG with FY07 supplemental 
assistance.  She was also introduced discretely to a handful of the 
Iraqi students, who spoke positively about their learning 
experiences in the Jordanian school. 
 
¶13.  (U) Congresswoman McCollum cleared this message. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.gov.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
Hale